Key achievements
Action around the Halloween/Fireworks Night Period 2007 and 2008 in London
In recognition of the increased trend in crime and ASB that tends to be experienced during the Halloween/Fireworks Night period the Government Office for London has working closely with a number of its Boroughs over the last two years to support reductions in these offences over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Further details of this support and its outcomes will be posted on this mini site.Work to tackle robbery of Mobile Phones
Work to tackle robbery of Mobile Phones
Over the past few years, the Government, police and industry in the UK have been working together to tackle escalating mobile phone theft (mobile phones are stolen in 53% of robberies, and in 28% they are the only item stolen) and have put in place a range of measures. These include:
- Section 62 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 closed a loophole in the Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002. The phone barring process will not work if it is possible to re-programme stolen mobiles to change their identity. This legislation makes it an offence to tamper with (or offer or agree to tamper with) a mobile phone handset's identity (IMEI) and was commenced in March 2007.
- The creation of the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit. - this national unit acts as an intelligence gathering body as well as a national centre of excellence advising police forces on measures to tackle mobile phone crime.
- Work on Mobile phone theft continues to be part of the responsibilities of the Design Against Crime Team
Specialist Support for London Boroughs from the Jill Dando Institute (JDI)
The JDI set up with funding from Home Office and Government Office for London a specific support programme which included:
- Providing problem-solving advice for the analysts in the high priority CDRPs. This included holding half day meetings to discuss the viability of robbery problem solving plans with lead robbery members of the eight targeted priority CDRPs with larger increases and/or volumes of personal robberies. The aim of these meetings was to:
- Test the robustness of completed existing Robbery Action Plans for the target CDRPs for appropriate levels of problem solving analysis, viability, innovation and partnership involvement.
- Assist with the identification of obstacles to delivery and actioning of problem solving plans including specific focus on the target CDRPs.
- Encourage sustainable options of intervention aimed at reducing robbery on the basis of a problem solving approach through a variety of appropriate partnership.
- Work with four analysts in two CDRPs (Hillingdon and Ealing) to produce a model problem solving action plan. In doing so to identify good practice and assist GOL to facilitate the spread of such good practice with existing target personal robbery CDRPs in London.
- Set up a specialist robbery course on ‘Effective Problem Solving' for BCU and CDRP Crime Analysts.
A Grade 7 from the Home Office was seconded to GOL to lead on this work. He produced a Report on Personal robbery in London including a model analysis and action plan through working with Ealing CDRP and the focus is now to spread effective practice.
Further details of what we are doing in this area is contained in the Report on the Government Office for London Personal Robbery Project.
The Metropolitan Police website also contains the latest crime figures and crime maps available as from 3 September: Met Police 2008 crime statistics 
PDF 80Kb .
Last update: Tuesday, February 24, 2009